BYD continued to receive praise last week as they were named on Fortune China’s Most Admired Chinese Companies 2013 Rankings. This year, however, they were recognised for the first time as China’s most admired automotive brand overtaking last year’s industry leader, The Fuyao Group.

This year’s list included a total of six automotive OEMs, the next closest industry member being Great Wall Motors. The annual rankings are established through the results of surveys taken by over 1,200 senior business executives. BYD came in ranked overall as China’s 11th most admired brand, ten spots above The Fuyao Group who occupied the 21st spot. This is an improvement from last year’s ranking of 15th.

Though their automobile division has become synonymous with the electric car industry since Berkshire Hathaway purchased 9.9% of BYD Company Limited in 2008, they have also developed hybrid and gasoline powered automobiles in domestic China.

Unlike other automobile OEMs on Fortune’s list, BYD Company is not limited to just cars. Established in 1995, they specialise in new energy, automotive and IT solutions. Currently the world’s leading supplier of rechargeable batteries, their proprietary Iron-Phosphate battery chemistry has propelled them into one of the world’s largest electric transit bus suppliers as well as a leader in electric cars. As part of a strong new push into the North and South American markets, the company is also busy opening manufacturing facilities for both their bus and battery businesses in California, USA.

With more than 180,000 people employed worldwide, and a $101.3 billion dollar market cap, BYD is a major player in China’s economy.

Source: BYD

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